Prix de l'innovation AGROVINA 2020

The group of Jean-Pierre Wolf of the University of Geneva won the 2020 Prix de l'Innovation of the Agrovina exposition for its Agrolase system.

Agrolase uses laser diffraction and digital holography to detect spores of pathogens in the air in real time, such as mildew and powdery mildew in vines . Within an autonomous station, powered by solar energy and communicating via 4G, various information is collected, such as temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind, etc. This data acquired in real time is processed by artificial intelligence algorithms on a central computer. This information and this process is then used to deliver information on the risk of infection in real time to the operator so as to spatially and temporally optimize the antifungal treatment of his farm. While the presence of spores in the air is very variable, both in terms of geographic location and over time, the measurement of these allows the risk of infection to be addressed in a targeted and early manner. subplot. The goal is to reduce the amount of fungicide needed, while maintaining farm protection from the risk of infection.